Cork Tiktok star: ‘I felt worthless in care but rap saved my life’

Aaron Murphy — aka Rebel — is a teenager who raps about life in care and has clocked up hundreds of thousands of views online

'It’s a strong person who can express their feelings': Aaron Murphy who raps under the name Rebel, in the M5 sound studio at Nicholas Well Lane, Cork. Picture: Larry Cummins

A former foster child has told how rapping about the difficulties he faced in State care — including being separated from his siblings and never sitting any State exams — “saved my life”.

Aaron Murphy, aged 18, from the Glen in Cork, has been slowly building a fan base on TikTok over the past two years.